The framework of the development is laid out from the beginning, but its design allows it to grow organically over time.

Callebaut’s Coral Reef proposes building an artificial pier on seismic piles in the Caribbean Sea. Modular duplexes built according to Passive House standards would be added into the housing matrix as funds and time allow and eventually extend over the entire pier. The modular units’ configuration allows each family to have a plot of land to grow their own food. A canyon flows between two rows of housing and is filled with a tropical ecosystem for the local fauna and the flora.

Aquaculture farms and grey water recycling plants filter and process the water before sending it into the sea. The entire complex is carbon neutral and powered via a number of different renewable energy sources. Power would be generated from thermal energy conversion under the pier, marine currents, vertical axis wind turbines, and solar photovoltaics.

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9 Comments

bamboochikMarch 9, 2013 at 2:09 pm

And the money to do this is coming from??? And this will be built when???…and this is going to be a safe place to be in a hurricane because??? Who dreamed this fantasy up has obviously never been through a hurricane!

anon234711February 26, 2011 at 11:29 pm

Like people who’ve been traumatized by an earthquake are really going to set foot in a building like that. Please. It makes me queasy to look at it, and I’ve only been in mild earthquakes.

On the surface, this design is one that addresses a lot of factors. But one seemingly overlooked design flaw I see is not understood in the design. Haiti is in a very geologically unstable region of the world and by designing the buildings this way. I wonder if the designer was considering how and where the segments will topple too. The first clues are in the lack of high rise structures in the coastal region. Unless great expense is spared in the construction and preparation of the building, this would be more a offering for the people of Haiti who don’t need help but rather have a suitable disposable income.

I do like elements of the design, but it’s not for Haiti, but more suited to Treasure Island in Nassau.

desireeFebruary 21, 2011 at 3:22 am

Can I just mention that you could stack those things until the cows come home and not have enough? Also, you will not talk Haitian’s to get into a structure like that. They just won’t. Can you blame them?

audiojackFebruary 20, 2011 at 10:01 pm

How to you get to the houses? Coral inhabitants would scale it I suppose, but not Haitians.

This is not ‘disaster housing’. This is not a serious attempt to address the desperate need for rebuilding in Haiti, this is architectural sophistry. Seductive images that beg questions like: how does the circulation work? It’s not possible to take seriously a project that claims to be ‘sustainable’ when it’s for new construction at sea level – on a planet condemned to rapidly rising sea levels. And then there are the hurricanes – they’re fairly regular events in Haiti and I can’t see that this design is particularly well adapted! The list goes on…

architecturehateFebruary 16, 2011 at 4:36 pm

Hmm, conspicuous lack of contextual drawings…like a site plan. At least they are into recycling – as in recycling one of their rejected projects for Dubai. Although I’m sure Haitians who need affordable eco housing all have “super yachts” (see images 6-9).

frenchyfrogFebruary 16, 2011 at 3:32 pm

As for each of his marvellous/ fantastic… concept, nothing is ever mentioned about the price. Have you heard of the floating cities,yes , that’s true,helping those who will be left homeless once their house is destroyed is philanthropic, but WHO’S GOING TO PAY for it? the homeless…?? a real utopia, as mentioned in the article!

anothervoiceFebruary 16, 2011 at 9:34 am

I’m always amazed at the lack of perception in these “new project for Haiti” stories. They all are more about the designers ego than they are about solving problems for Haiti. They demonstrate an ignorance about all the challenges the project would face.